Final Content Strategy Report – Shenandoah Valley Tourism Partnership

A Request for Proposal, or RFP, is a document that a business, non-profit, or government agency produces to document the requirements for a planned project. They use the RFP to request bids from vendors. They review the submitted vendor proposals and select the best vendor to complete the project.

This week I used an RFP that was created by the Shenandoah Valley Tourism Partnership to produce a Content Strategy Report. SVTP is looking to improve the functionality, content, and look of the existing website to aid visitors, group tour operators, wedding planners, the media, and other groups interested in exploring the Shenandoah Valley.

The conclusion I came to was the SVTP site needs to make design and content changes that can continue to grow and engage users. This growth will help the site meet the business goals by focusing on the Core Strategy Statement and the Messaging Framework. Maintaining updated and refreshed content will keep users coming back.

Business goals

Business Goal #1: Increase awareness of the Shenandoah Valley as a visitor destination in target markets.

Business Goal #2: Increase visitor spending and produce a substantial economic impact for the Shenandoah Valley.

Business Goal #3: Promote partner destinations.

Core Strategy Statement:

To increase the number of people who visit the Shenandoah Valley area, growing the local business revenue, and showing visitors all that SVPT has to offer.

The core strategy statement will help ensure SVTP is meeting its business goals by increasing the number of people who engage with SVTP’s website. By becoming the expert in all things within Shenandoah Valley, SVTP will be able to engage the user and remain connected with the community. Continued outreach through events is essential to highlight on the home page of the site with strong calls to action while providing seasonal information for the users.

View full report here

 

 

Resources:

Casey, M. (2015). The Content Strategy Toolkit. 
     Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education.

Grab Your Audience with Brochure Design

Before starting any design project, you must think about layout, goals, and your audience. As with any marketing material, you need to have a plan in place before getting started. Whether you segment by age, location, or lifestyle, keep your target audience in mind as you design your messaging and imagery. When creating a brochure, you need to map out your idea and plan what belongs on the front, middle, and back of the brochure. When writing the copy, think about how you can draw the reader to each panel while telling a story.

The front page of a brochure needs to be attention-grabbing. It should make them want to find out more. A clear message of what you have to offer and branding throughout for consistency is essential. Limit yourself to one clear message on the front page, and express that message with as few words as possible. Once you have grabbed their attention, the main brochure contents should give them what they want, which is information about your products or services.

Write copy so that it will fit into each panel with a header and brief description – this makes the story easier to follow. Your headers should be clear so that readers can quickly see what you are offering. The headings should deliver meaning without further explanation, and beneath each header, you’ll want to describe the product or service in more detail. Keep these descriptions brief and to-the-point, providing information to the readers to inspire them to take the next step: purchase, go to a website or visit a location.

The back panel should contain contact information, ensuring the reader has what they need to continue with the next action, whether it’s your email address to contact you, directions to your business, or a link to your website. It’s standard practice to put the essential contact information in the middle back panel of a tri-fold brochure.

Assignment

This week’s assignment was to design a tri-fold brochure for a fictitious travel agency. I choose to focus on a specific area of travel concerning Wedding Destinations. I used photography from my destination wedding and kept with complementary colors of the ocean to provide a feeling of an exotic location. The front cover contains a title, the service provided, and a corresponding image – which displays to the reader the purpose of the brochure. The first panel they would see when opening the tri-fold would be a short description of what the service is and how to get started.

The back panel contains the contact information, the company logo, Captured Moments, which I designed in Illustrator. Once they open the brochure, they will see three panels – service details, save time-leave the planning to us, and travel – all with the theme of “planning” within the title. Images are displayed in each panel and a short description to explain what services the reader will receive. The content flows to bring the reader’s eyes to each panel, provides concise information so they can quickly scan for details. The goal of the brochure is to motivate the reader to start planning their special day now – call, visit, or proceed to the website for more information.

View the brochure here

 

 

Resources:

Landa, R. (2019). Graphic design solutions. Boston, MA: Cengage.